1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the production of slide fasteners, and more particularly to a method of and an apparatus for attaching bottom stops to a slide fastener chain.
2. Prior Art
In the slide fastener industry, it is known to attach bottom stops of a generally H-shaped cross section to a slide fastener chain having successive spaced pairs of opposed element-free or blank tape portions between successive spaced pairs of coupling element groups mounted on a pair of stringer tapes along beaded edges thereof; one bottom stop at a time is attached adjacent to the leading or trailing end of one of the successive pairs of coupling element groups. The H-shaped bottom stop has two pairs of gripping legs on opposite sides. For attachment, the beaded tape edges of an adjacent pair of opposed blank tape portions are respectively threaded through a space between the gripping legs of each pair, and the gripping legs of each pair are then simply clinched about a respective one of the beaded tape edges. The major problem with the prior art is that the element-free beaded tape edges, which usually bulge especially at portions adjacent to the coupling element groups, tend to objectionably project out of the inter-leg spaces of the individual bottom stops when the latter are attached. With the prior art, proper and firm attachment of bottom stops to a slide fastener chain is difficult to achieve. Further, the resultant slide fasteners are unpleasant in appearance.